𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒; 𝑻.𝑮𝑰𝒀𝑼𝑼

f i f t y - t h r e e

i only worry because you never tell me what's wrong until it's too late.

you feared ayumu would do the exact same thing.

a clap of thunder startles you as streaks of lightning lit up the room. after a few more flashes, the room goes dark again while the thunder continues to rumble in the background, accompanied by a howling wind, as if laughing at your situation.

you forced yourself to take a few steps towards your brother. grabbing the chair in front of the desk, you quietly placed it next to his bed before taking a seat.

"so cold..."

there were a few light taps on the door behind you, but you ignored it. you stared out the window as the tapping continued. it sounded like the rain pelting against the glass panel. and the sound of the door sliding open and close sounded like the rumbling thunder.

i'm so tired.

your eyelids begin to droop as you struggle to keep your eyes open. the sound of rainfall never fails to make you sleepy.

"you're back!"

you forced your eyes open, sitting up properly as you turned to the desk next to you.

"hikari, hello," you smiled at the crow standing on top of a stack of books.

"what's with that look?"

"hm?"

"you look like you're about to cry," the crow noted. "shall i come back later?"

"it's not like you've never seen me cry before," you shook your head. "just stay."

you let your gaze return to ayumu, watching the way his chest rises and falls with every breath he takes. you gently held one of his hands with your own and rested the other on his forehead. so warm.

"do you know what his temperature was?" you pulled your hand away from his face. "his hands are so cold." lifting up the blanket, you placed his hand down before covering it with the thick fabric.

"a little over forty-one."

"are the medications he's taking not helping anymore..?"

"actually!" your crow perked up. "shinobu-sama is working on a new medicine for him!"

"a new medicine?"

"yes! she's working with someone called tamayo! they're trying to make a drug to use against kibutsuji muzan, but they're also creating a medicine to help with ayumu's illness. i heard they're almost done!"

letting out a sigh of relief, you leaned back against the chair with your eyes closed. "i'll have to thank them." though you knew no amount of 'thank yous' would make up for everything shinobu had done for both you and ayumu.

"what's wrong? you don't look very happy."

you opened your eyes, staring at the empty ceiling above you. "hmm, it's ayumu's birthday tomorrow, and i still don't know what to get him."

"yikes! i'm not good with things like these as well!" hikari jumped off the stack of books. "time for me to go, go! see ya!"

you watched with curiosity as your crow wobbled towards the exit. he tapped his beak in the gap between the wall and the door until it slid open a little. then he pushed his head through, squeezing the rest of his body out before using his beak to shut the door.

shaking your head, you turned back around and looked out the window. the glass panel trembled when a gust of wind blew past, causing more rain to splatter against it.